Chiang Mai Vegetarian Restaurants: The Ultimate Guide

Chiang Mai is the best city we have ever visited for vegetarians. Sure, San Francisco has world class vegetarian restaurants and wonderfully fresh produce, but prices are high. We love cheap thalis and dosas in India – probably the best country for vegetarians – but it doesn’t have the diversity of cuisine that you’ll find in Chiang Mai. Whether you are craving a healthy salad, a spicy Thai curry, a falafel wrap, or a vegan cake – you’ll find it in Chiang Mai.

We took it upon ourselves to attempt to to visit every Chiang Mai vegetarian restaurant but I’m afraid that even after five months here we didn’t manage it – there are just so many! We counted over 40 vegetarian-only restaurants plus many more vegetarian-friendly options.

Our biggest piece of advice for a vegetarian in Chiang Mai is to pick up a Nancy Chandler map. These wonderful hand-drawn maps are a great guide to the city with lots of recommendations and unusual places marked on the map. Best of all, vegetarian restaurants are marked with a V so all you have to do is look for the nearest V to where you are. The map costs 250B and you can pick it up from one of the book shops near Tha Phae Gate. Chiang Mai is a compact city and it’s easy to get around on foot or bicycle but we like whizzing around on our moped.

Our Top Picks

These are our favourite vegetarian restaurants in Chiang Mai.

Note: 30B is about US$1.

1) Pun Pun

Simon at Pun Pun

At Pun Pun you sit in the shade of a giant Bodhi tree within the grounds of Wat Suan Dok with saffron-clad monks gracefully wandering past while you peruse the vast menu of vegetarian Thai dishes. The food is made with local organic produce where possible – much of it from their own farm. The service is friendly and the prices excellent value – most dishes are around 40B.

There is so much to choose from but some of our favourites are the spicy Thai salads including som tam (papaya salad) or the unusual banana flower salad or wing bean salad; the crispy spring rolls; the noodle dishes such as egg noodles with burnt chilli paste and vegetables, and a spicy, sweet and sour version of pad thai – pad thai rod tum yum. Pun Pun is also a good place to try the northern Thai classic khao soi, a coconut curry noodle soup. Don’t miss the delicious passion fruit shakes at only 30B.

Pad thai, som tam, wing bean salad, & noodles at Pun Pun

With a peaceful setting, varied menu, and low prices, Pun Pun is our top pick of all vegetarian restaurants in Chiang Mai.

Pun Pun is located at Wat Suan Dok on Suthep Rd. Head to the far end of the temple grounds and you’ll find the restaurant behind the Monk Chat building. It’s open 9am to 4pm and closed on Wednesdays.

Pun Pun now has a second location at 10 Santitham Rd with a more expensive but innovative menu of western and fusion dishes.It’s open 8.30am to 8pm. [Update: The second Pun Pun has changed management and is now called Imm Aim, it’s still very tasty though. Open 10am to 8pm]

Update: Pun Pun’s second location is now called Pun Pun Lang Moh and is on Suthep Rd near Chiang Mai University. It has the same menu, not as atmospheric location, but it’s conveniently open from 10am to 8pm.

2) Cafe Compassion [closed]

Cafe Compassion

Note: Sadly Cafe Compassion has now closed.

Cafe Compassion is hidden down a quiet, leafy soi with a simple but elegant garden setting. The small menu is lovingly prepared and they describe it as comfort food with a conscience. They serve mostly western dishes and although prices are quite high for Thailand at around 140B a dish it’s worth it for the high quality and relaxed ambience. The staff are friendly and they will happily cater for vegans and raw foodists too.

We love the bulbous veggie burger and the thyme roasted vegetable and cheddar panini, both served with tasty side salads. But what really keeps bringing us back is the decadent gooey brownies. We also appreciate the free filtered water.

Thyme roasted vegetable and cheese panini, Cafe Compassion

Cafe Compassion is located on Soi 11 off Sirimangkalajarn Rd and is open Tuesday to Saturday 11.30am to 8pm. Note: It has now closed down.

3) Free Bird Cafe

Free Bird Cafe

At Free Bird Cafe you can eat delicious food while helping a good cause – the proceeds go to the Thai Freedom House a language and arts community centre that supports Burmese refugees.

Free Bird has a cool location with seating either on cushions upstairs or in a shady and colourful garden. The menu is a mix of Thai, Burmese, Shan, and western dishes. We love the Burmese and Shan salads in particular – the Shan papaya salad is a creamier variant of the Thai version with added potato; the tangy teaf leaf salad; and the flavourful Shan rice noodle salad. Salads are around 65B.

Free Bird Cafe is located at Moon Muang, Soi 7. It’s open Tuesdays -Saturdays 9am to 5pm. Update: they have now moved and are at 116 Maneenoparat Rd along the north side of the moat near The setting isn’t quite as nice (no garden) but the food is still delicious.

4) Khun Churn

Khun Churn garden

Most of the vegetarian restaurants in the old city are full of tourists but when you head to Nimmanhaemin Rd out towards the university it’s far less touristy, and at Khun Churn you’ll find more Thais than foreigners. This isn’t a typical basic Thai vegetarian restaurant though – it has a classy garden setting and a menu packed with interesting northern Thai dishes.

The lunch buffet (169 baht) is extensive and includes make your own khao soi. From the menu mains are around 60-70B and are beautifully presented and full of flavour. The tod mum kaow poad (deep fried corn cakes) with a sweet and sour sauce are particularly good. The larb-e-sarn is a vegetarian version of an eastern Thai dish with mushrooms and tofu filling in for meat and packed full of flavour with lime, chilli, ground roasted rice, shallot, mint, spring onion, and coriander.

Larb-e-sarn (left), fresh spring rolls (right), corn cakes (front)

Khun Churn is located on soi 17 off Nimmanhaemin Rd and is open every day from 8am to 10pm. Update: Khun Churn has now moved to the Old Chiang Mai Cultural Center at 185/3 Wualai Rd.

Best Of The Rest

Although those are our top vegetarian restaurant recommendations it was hard to choose just a few. If we are looking for a particular dish or experience then we have some other favourites.

Best Vegetarian Khao Soi

Vegetarian khao soi at Aum

Khao soi is a northern Thai speciality that you should definitely try while in Chiang Mai. It’s a curry coconut soup with egg noodles, tofu, and vegetables and is topped with crispy noodles. It’s usually served with pickles, onions, lime, and chilli on the side.

Our favourite vegetarian khao soi is made with potato and tofu at Aum (60B), a vegetarian restaurant next to Black Canyon Coffee at Tha Phae Gate. Pun Pun is also a good place to try it.

Best Veggie Burger

Veggie burger at Peppermint Cafe

We have sampled many veggie burgers in Chiang Mai and count ourselves lucky that we have so much choice. Our favourite is at Peppermint Cafe on quiet soi 5 off Rachadamnoen Rd in the old city. It’s not a vegetarian place but the burger is delicious, made with a potato base and packed full of vegetables and cashews (99B). You can also get fries or chunky fried potato to go with it which you won’t get at the more health conscious vegetarian restaurants.

The veggie burger at Cafe Compassion [now closed] is also delicious (140B) and the side salad is much better than at Peppermint.

Update: We also like the veggie burger at Juicy 4 U, and the tofu burger with mango coleslaw at Magical Garden Cafe.

Best Cheap Eats

Vegetarian stall at Chiang Mai Gate market

The markets are the best place for cheap eats and luckily there is a vegetarian stall at the Chiang Mai Gate market in the old city, open from about 6pm. Dishes are 25B and you can choose from a range of stir fry vegetable and noodle dishes – it’s all made to order. While you are at the market pick up a 20B fruit shake from Mrs Pa’s stall across the road.

The Saturday and Sunday night walking markets are also popular places to find cheap meals. You can find vegetarian snacks but the full meals are limited. The best option at the Sunday Night Market is an Indian food stall inside Wat Pan On off Ratchaphakinai Rd where you can get two pretty decent veggie curries and rice for 40B. We also like the nearby samosa stall where three vegetable samosas cost 20B.

Scarily real looking fake meat noodle soup at Ming Kwon

“Jay” vegetarian sign

Chiang Mai is full of Thai-style vegetarian eateries which may not have signs in English but you can recognise the Thai sign for “jay” meaning vegetarian. They are mostly open at lunch and you choose from a selection of pre-made dishes at the counter. These places are very cheap, usually 25B for a couple of dishes with rice, but we weren’t a big fan of them because they use a lot of fake meat and the food was usually cold.

If this doesn’t bother you then you can try Ming Kwon on Rachadamnoen Rd near Wat Phrah Singh or Tieng Sing Taiwanese on Phra Pokklao Rd near Chiang Mai Gate, both in the old city. More options are listed on Happy Cow and on the helpful map on the Chiang Mai Vegetarian Facebook page.

Best Salad

Salad Concept create your own salad

I’m a fan of the spicy Thai salads and Pun Pun and Freebird Cafe are a good place to try these. If you prefer a western salad then head to Salad Concept on Nimmanhaemin Rd (corner of soi 13). For 50B [now 69B] you get a fresh lettuce salad with a choice of five ingredients and one of the unusual dressings. Cheese costs extra. [update: there’s a second Salad Concept in Central Festival shopping mall].

Beetroot Stories salad

I also like the salads at Beetroot Stories, a vegetarian cafe in the Kad Klang Vieng Plaza on Ratchaphakinai Rd. A good creative vegetable salad is 60B and includes green beans and beetroot amongst the more typical ingredients. The ginger and pineapple dressing is delicious.

Best For Visiting With Meat-Eating Friends

Wing Bean Salad at Bon Kitchen

If you are looking for a restaurant that has both vegetarian and meat meals there are plenty of options in Chiang Mai. We like Bon Kitchen [now closed] on Sridornchai Rd outside of the old city towards Chang Klan Rd. Everything is healthy and nutritious with no MSG and is organic where possible. There is a decent vegetarian selection including unusual options such as the huge and delicious wing bean salad (150B) with tamarind, chilli, coconut and peanut; and the fruit salad with goji berries, sunflower seeds, and a slightly spicy pumpkin and mint dressing. UPDATE JANUARY 2013: Bon Kitchen is now closed.

Dada Kafe on Rachamanka Rd in the old city is another good option with plenty of healthy vegetarian and meat options.

Best Garden Setting

Tianzi Tea House

At Tianzi Tea House you laze on cushions at low tables in a covered pavilion within a serene garden filled with lush plants and colourful flowers. The only problem is the mosquitoes, so take insect repellent. The food is all vegan and macrobiotic and is more Chinese and Japanese influenced than Thai. Our favourite dishes were the lentil salad in a flavourful mix of herbs, carrot, garlic, and vinaigrette dressing; and the brown rice salad with sesame sauce. Most dishes are about 80-100B.

Lentil salad, Tianzi Tea House

Tianzi Tea House is just off Sridornchai Rd opposite the Imperial Mae Ping Hotel.

Honourable Mentions

Stir fry at Taste From Heaven

While not our favourite vegetarian restaurants in Chiang Mai (it’s so great to be in a city where we can be this fussy!) you can also get good vegetarian meals at:

May Kaidee’s [now called Morning Glory] on Ratwithi Rd. They also do a vegetarian cooking class.

Giva Raw Foodon Soi 1, Tha Phae Rd is the only all raw organic vegan restaurant in the city.

Taste From Heaven [CLOSED] on Tha Phae Rd – service isn’t great but there’s a big menu and air conditioning if you are feeling the heat.

Blue Diamond on Soi 9, Moon Muang Rd – they serve meat dishes too and it’s a bit pricy but they have vegan cakes and a health food shop.

Juicy 4 U on Rachamanka Rd (opposite Dada Kafe) – their veggie burger is decent and if you are craving a sandwich you can choose up to 10 ingredients on whole grain bread.

Whole Earth on Sridornchai Rd has a mostly vegetarian menu of Thai and Indian curries in an elegant garden setting. It’s expensive but the Indian curries are worth it for a treat.

Another interesting meal option (you’ll eat a lot) is to do a cooking course. There are plenty of cooking schools to choose from and all cater for vegetarians. It’s actually useful to go to a cooking school that also caters for meat-eaters as you can learn which dishes have ingredients like fish sauce in them and what to use as a substitute. We have written about our experiences learning to cook Thai food in Chiang Mai.

If you are a vegetarian travelling in SE Asia you won’t want to miss a visit to this vegetarian-friendly city. With so many options to try you may (like us) find it hard to leave.

Update February 2014 – New Vegetarian Restaurants in Chiang Mai

We recently returned to Chiang Mai for another three month stay. We found that some of the vegetarian restaurants listed above have closed (Cafe Compassion we miss you!) but many more have opened to take their place and Chiang Mai is even more vegetarian friendly then ever. Here are the new places we liked best:

Magical Garden Cafe – One of our new favourites this non-profit restaurant is run by a foundation that builds schools for disadvantaged children. We love the garden setting just behind Wat Suan Dok (although it’s only open in the evenings when mosquitos can be bad) and the menu that mixes Western and Asian dishes. The deep fried morning glory salad, aubergine dip, and tofu burger with mango coleslaw are all delicious, and the cheesy vegetable gratin is the perfect sick of Thai comfort food.

Anchan – A popular place off Nimman Rd with a small weekly changing menu that uses seasonal organic ingredients. It’s a bit pricey but portions are big and the quality is high. Try their signature Anchan juice made from a purple flower.

Brown Rice Organic Bistro - It’s run by a Thai celebrity chef and the food is tasty and beautifully presented but we were put off by the use of soy meat which we aren’t fans of.

Fuang – Lovely garden setting and large menu of inexpensive dishes including some unusual options like brown rice noodles with sesame.

Chiang Mai Vegetarian Restaurants Map

We’ve created a map marking all the vegetarian restaurants in Chiang Mai that we have mentioned in this post. Click on the blue markers to see the names of the restaurants.

Thanks Tristan. Our family just told us that Masterchef was filmed here recently. Would have been interesting to see. Chiang Mai is a great city for foodies – we love cooking for ourselves from the markets as well as eating out.

Ahh, gooey brownies! I ate probably six brownies in Chiang Mai (each of them from a separate place) trying to find something warm and gooey instead of hard and cake-like. Wish I had known about Cafe Compassion.

Also, I’m fairly sure Kali and I got food poisoning from the Salad Concept. I didn’t want to believe it, as we loved their salads (so fresh!), but it’s the only thing we were able to narrow it down to. Still, that was only one instance in our handful of occasions eating there, so who knows.

What a great guide to vegetarian restaurants in Chiang Mai – really comprehensive! Wish we would’ve tried the Veggie Burger at the Peppermint Cafe, it looks delicious in the picture. My personal favorites are Beetroot Stories for the Thai Green Curry and Juicy 4 You for Thai style Fried Rice. And every dish at PunPun (the original one at Wat Suan Dok)!

Well, I don’t quite have a favorite restaurant in Chiang Mai… yet. But this is indeed a detailed list. I love that its a vegetarian list because there isn’t many of them. Though I’m not a vegetarian, I think I could still eat well in any of these places. Thai food always amazes me. Its so beautiful to the eyes and to the tastebuds.

I guess in five months you can develop quite a comprehensive list of the vegetarian restaurants there! That’s quite a calling card that it’s better in some ways (more diverse) than eating out vegetarian in India, which is kind of the gold standard. You have me going with the peaceful garden settings, the monks, and the passionfruit smoothie— I think Pun Pun would have to be at the top of my list, too.

Mmmmm…. I’m excited to try a few of these places as we’ll be in Chiang Mai for Songkran. My wife has picked some places from your International foods in Chiang Mai post and we’re hoping to have a blast. We’ll let you know what we think.

The veggie burger at the Peppermint Cafe is one of worst I’ve ever had. It is basically steamed overcooked veggies thrown on a grill. It falls apart the minute you try to bite into it. It also tasted like they cooked in on the same grill they cook their meat on.

You have beautiful pics on your site but all the information seems to have come directly from the happy cow website (which lists veg restaurants around the world). Also, there are at least 30 more pure thai veg restaurants in Chang Mai than happy cow even has listed. It seems most of the ones you have highlighted are geared more towards westerners with reflective taste and pricing. Still it is great that you are promoting vegetarianism.

The veg restaurants we liked most probably were more geared towards westerners but that’s because we found the pure thai veg restaurants used fake meat a lot which we don’t like and the dishes were pre-prepared and served lukewarm or cold, which we never got used to.

Thanks Erin for your wonderful blog. Myself and my husband are vegetarians and have a serious problem when we travel. We are originally from India but have lived in the US for over 25 years. This is such a great help. We are planning on being in Chiang Mai in Jan and hopefully make some friends and have a wonderful time. Sure would be great if I could meet up with you and Simon sometime.
I would love to cook some Indian food for you! Are indian spices easily available in CM?
Have a great day.

We’ve left Chiang Mai now I’m afraid. You can find some Indian spices in CM in the big supermarkets like Rimping but they aren’t very common. Have a wonderful time and enjoy the vegetarian heaven that is Chiang Mai.

Just arrived at chiang mai and already amazed at the number of veggie places. Thanks for this great post, so helpful! I live in Sydney where the veggie places are few and far between so I am in heaven :0)

holy wow… i am an extra in your picture (and i am reading, my natural reaction to any habitat) of free bird cafe. i simply love that place as they really do have the best burmese/shan salads going. glad you enjoyed it.
this is a great run down of CM’s veg scene. i too thought about trying every veg place here. and then realized i would not be finished till about 2019.
now where do i apply for photo compensation……….

Hi Erin, Being vegeterian i was scared what to eat whe in Thailand. I am sure your blog will help me lot. I can see loads of vegeterian dishes. Except for Egg Noodles which dont qualify as veg in India. Are there options available without egg and (sea food, hope they dont take it as veg). What about veg food avalability deap enough to Chiangrai…Thanks a lot well in advance for your help and advice.

Thanks for the guide but it’s outdated now since Cafe Compassion no longer exists. Check out the new Anchan Vegetarian Restaurant on Nimmanhaemin Road: https://www.facebook.com/AnchanVegetarianRestaurant?ref=ts&fref=ts with its organic chemical free vegetarian food and healthfood shop, good prices, very tasty :-). It will be officially opened on 19 Oct, Thanks.

It is true that Cafe Compassion is closed. Free Bird Cafe is now relocating and is temporarily closed as well. Had dinner last night at Anchan and it certainly is worth a visit, market fresh suggestions, raw chocolate for dessert, organic mushroom juice and anchan juice to wash it down. Super delicious…

Just tried Pun Pun, wow, amazing value for money and wholesome food, great find! Bonus tip: Go for a monk chat (just outside Pun Pun and to your right) straight after your meal, guaranteed to be an interesting one

Ooohhh that banana flower salad at Pun Pun is heavenly, hands down one of the best dishes of our trip. We also had a divine black sesame banana shake there. I’ve booked marked the rest and hope to get back to Chiang Mai soon. Thanks for all the hard work that went into this!

Have to say that your veggie burger recommendation was horrible! how can you serve a veggie burger on a disgusting bimbo white bread burger bun!? the burger was basically a mashed potato mush patty and nothing on the side! I try to eat healthy so don’t eat french fries.

If you want a good veggie burger served on a quality whole grain bun with a nice side salad included and 3 unique sauces then you need to go to Juicy4U. Waaay better, IMHO.

Well I guess it’s all down to personal taste. Although we’re vegetarian it doesn’t mean we have to be super healthy all the time so we liked that we could have fries with it. We weren’t that impressed with the burger at Juicy4U actually but it’s worth trying.

Hi Erin and Simn – just a quick note about your advice regarding looking for “Jay” restaurants. Jay actually means vegan – someone who eats no meat products of any kind would want to ask for Jay food. However, that means no egg. If you want egg in your dishes, say “Mhang sa wi rat” which means “don’t eat meat.” Every Thai knows what that means. Great roundup of restaurants!

I finally made it to (the new) Pun Pun and it was great! I had a beautiful salad and I also ate some of my friend’s meal which contained the most delicious tofu. My friend is a confirmed carnivore and he really likes Pun Pun and is something of a regular.

Next on my ‘to eat’ list is the buffet at Khun Churn, that sounds delicious too!

Thank you SO MUCH for this post. We were beginning to despair of finding edible food in Thailand, as we’ve read that most Thais put shrimp paste in their curries. I am wondering, though, do vegetarian restaurants offer fish sauce as a condiment?

Tried a few of the restaurants here. Thanks ! The BEST vegetarian place we found was ” Bubbles Live” … Hands down, amazing huge plates of salad chockfull of veggies and greens and excellent veg curries. Also a lovely dish of shitaki mushrooms w black sesame seeds,sunflower sprouts and grilled tofu. wow! At Dada had a very average meal, same at Juices4u. Bubbles Live is located near these two, kind of behind the used book store on a slip street at an angle. Did not find another place that came even close !